Container Cargo Volumes Taking the Slow Route
As consumers buy fewer clothes, television sets and appliances, cargo container volumes at the nation’s ports are expected to decline 11.7 percent during the first half of this year.
The National Retail Federation, in its monthly “Port Tracker” report, noted that container traffic into the United States hasn’t risen on a year-over-year basis since July 2007. “This year’s numbers are going to remain well below last year’s because sales are still slow, and most economists aren’t seeing a recovery before the second half of the year, at the earliest. Careful inventory management is a key to survival for retailers in the economic times we are going through,” said Jonathan Gold, the NRF’s vice president for supply chain and customs policy.
In January, the month for which the latest figures are available, the nation’s cargo volumes were down 14.6 percent to 1.05 million 20-foot-containers from the same period last year. February, traditionally the slowest shipping month of the year, had preliminary statistics showing a 17.7 percent decline over last year, with 1 million 20-foot containers passing through the nation’s ports.
March is forecast to see a 7.4 percent decline in container traffic business, with 1.07 million containers.
Traffic volumes at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach are also down. The Port of Los Angeles saw a 10 percent dip in January in traffic while the Port of Long Beach experienced a 23.4 percent decline. —Deborah Belgum
